Conquering Goals: The Battle Plan

"To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe."(Anatole France) While these three items define success, without all of them success would be unattainable. Without a dream, you will be without desire and without desire, you will be without action. If you can unlock the dream, then you can unlock success and make your dream reality.

Take a look back across your life and at the difficult things that you have already accomplished. For some, finishing high school seemed impossible only to graduate from college. Others set out for a career and ended up owning their own Business. No matter who you are, you have accomplished many things in your life. I venture to say that many of your accomplishments were at one time or another, a goal. Goals and dreams give hope and the ability to achieve things otherwise not realized. If you can institute the following keys into your daily routine, you can realize more goals and reach new heights of success. What are the keys and how do they work?

1. Identify the goal

In order to achieve, you must set and accomplish goals. goals give purpose and make us feel good about ourselves.

Think about the horse pulling a cart with the carrot dangling out in front. What purpose does the carrot serve? It's the dream and the desire. When the horse wakes up each morning, I doubt that he is very excited about pulling a cart all around town. But add the carrot and we have created purpose and motivation. All day long the carrot hangs out in front and all day long the horse chases it. People laugh at the horse because of its simplicity. But during the first five minutes of the day the horse has identified the goal to get the carrot. At the end of the day, the horse is rewarded for its perseverance. While we all might laugh at this little analogy, what would happen if we inserted this horse mentality into our daily lives?

I agree that it isn't that simple; however, do not make it harder than it has to be. There is a simple system to creating and accomplishing goals. You cannot just wish your goals; you need to install structure in your life for establishing goals and achieving your desired success.

First, goal statements need to be specific. Simply setting a goal to lose weight isn't enough; being specific will allow you to better define the goal and create a stronger plan for success. "I would like to lose 10 pounds by June 1st" is a much stronger goal. This gives the goal more credibility and creates the need for a specific plan.

Next, your goals need to be achievable. Achievable does not mean easy. Goals should require you to move outside your comfort zone. Goals are meant to help us accomplish things, but do not make them impossible. Sometimes the accomplishments might be small and other times they might be great. But, each one should require you to elevate yourself in order to see through to the accomplishment. This stretching will make you stronger and build your confidence to achieve greater goals. When I think of this process, I visualize athletes pushing themselves and their bodies beyond where they have ever been. Why? In order to build larger and stronger muscles, the weight must be gradually increased. This weight increase in turn develops the muscles and new, higher levels of strength. Without the increase of weight, the muscles will not get stronger. I believe the same principle holds true in the setting and accomplishment of goals. goals need to require more effort than the last, thus making you stronger.

Third, establish a